Softball Takes Down Union and Split with USC Salk

Softball traveled to "The Coop" to face USC Union for a second time on Sunday, March 27th. The Pioneers walked away with two wins on the day, making their record 15-15 overall and 6-0 in Region play.

In game one, SMC put up three runs in the first inning to start the game off strong and then put up four runs in the 7th inning to secure the win. Caitlyn had a great game on the mound for SMC. She pitched all 7 innings, only allowed 4 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and had 7 strikeouts. Caitlyn had the big home run in the first inning to get the Pioneers going. New, Cox, and Duron all had RBI's for game one. 

For game two, Union jumped on the board early, putting up four runs on SMC. SMC put up four runs in the 2-inning to tie the ball game. Union scored their last and final run in the 3rd inning and SMC scored 2 more in the fourth to win 6-5. The Lady Pioneers had a total of 13 hits in game two. RBI's came from New, Cox, Duron, and Andrews. SMC had a double play on defense with Maddox, Venturelli, and Duron. 

"That was the best game we have played defensively this year. We were aggressive in making some plays and we knew where we needed to go with the ball. Watching them on defense was fun because everything clicked and they worked together so well. We didn't hit as well as I had hoped but we did what we had to do to win the game." -Coach Hill

Softball traveled to Allendale, SC to take on USC Salk on Monday, March 28th. SMC split with the Indians, making that the first loss for the Pioneers in Region play. 

Game one, SMC came out hitting again like the day before. Venturelli got on base in the second inning and Cox hit a home run to score 2 runs. Izzy Duron got a home run right after Cox, making the score 3-0. The Indians chipped away at the score and the Pioneers couldn't string base hits together to score the runs to win. SMC lost game one 3-4. 

In game two, the Indians came out hitting putting two runs up fast. SMC came back in the second inning and scored two runs to tie. SMC made a pitching change and the Indians put up five more runs. The Lady Pioneers weren't going down without a fight and tied it up again. In the top of the 6th, SMC got the bats going and scored 13 runs to make the score 20-7. Another pitching change was made in 4-inning for SMC and the Indians would only score one more run in the 6th. SMC had a total of 20 hits in game two.

Duron, Cox, Venturelli, and Wood (2) contributed with home runs in game two. 

"Game one was a hard one to swallow, with being our first loss in Region. We started excited and ready but then lost the energy through the game. Game two was great, we had the timing for the pitchers and we made the adjustments in game two to hit in the gaps and holes. I am very proud of this team. We have our moments where we don't play to our full potential but these two days were good. We had a lot of positives and we also had some negatives but we know what we need to work on before seeing Salk again and seeing everyone in the tournament in May." - Coach Hill

#ROLLNEERS